Calcium Chloride is a chemical compound of calcium and chlorine. It is a calcium salt traditionally used in the food industry in cheese making. Used in many applications, anti-caking agent, antimicrobial agent, pickling agent, firming agent, flavor enhancer, humectants, ph control agent, stabilizer, thickener and texturizer. It is highly soluble in water. It occurs naturally in seawater. It is an inorganic compound, colorless crystalline solid at room temperature.
Applications 1. Food industries Canners and processors use it to increase the firmness of fruits and vegetables. In cheese manufacturing, it is added to pasteurized skimmed milk to help coagulate the curds and increase firmness and restore any lost Calcium. In soft drinks and beer, it is used to remove sodium alkalinity from water.
2. In Medicine It is used to treat internal Hydrofluoric Acid burns and Magnesium intoxication, and cardiac arrest. It is employed in self-heating cans and heating pads and used as a source of Calcium supplement. It is also used as a desiccant and with ethanol it is used to sterilize male animals.
3. In petroleum and petrochemical industries Calcium chloride is used as desiccant for hydrocarbons and oil well drilling chemical to remove moisture from a wide variety of gaseous and liquid organic products.
4. In the metal processing industries: It used in extraction of Metallic Sodium and Magnesium, preventing the build-up of alkaline scale or scaffolding in the furnace, freeze-proofing and thawing of various types ores, production of alloys of calcium and other various metals.
5. Environmental Control Uses It causes the oil droplets to float and reacts with pollutants to form highly insoluble salts, and are removed. It suppresses formation of dust and used to prevent ice formation.
6. Cement and construction industries It helps to obtain higher densities which results in higher strengths.
7. In the refrigeration industry It offers the refrigeration industry a low temperature brine. Overall, it helps in greater economy of installation and operation.
8. Tire weighting of pay loaders, bulldozers, and tractors with calcium chloride (29% solution) improves traction and prevent the lifting of the front or rear wheels when stopping, accelerating, loading, and unloading.
9. In the Electronics industry It is used as a raw material in the production of high purity calcium carbonate - used to manufacture phosphors.
10. In Paper industry It is used in the production of corrugated board.
11. In Plastic industry It is used as a suspending agent in the suspension polymerization of various plastics.
12. In the production of chemicals and other industrial products It can be electrolysed to give calcium metal and chlorine gas, used in the production of activated charcoal, hardening of specialty steel, humectant and gel depressant.
